WhatsappIt’s such a wonderful ceremony. The ancient traditions go back thousands of years. And they are full of significance. As well, they are very meaningful. Let’s take a look at the Jewish wedding.
The Jewish wedding
It starts long before you see the bride and groom under the canopy. First, the ketubah is signed. Then the groom goes to see the bride. The bride is wearing a white wedding dress. She is also wearing a veil. The veil is lifted up to show her face. Then the groom goes to the chuppah, or wedding canopy.
The Bible Has Jewish Weddings
One of the earliest recorded weddings is that of Jacob, who fell in love with Rachael. They planned to wed. However, on the wedding night, a horrible thing happened. Lavan, Rachael’s father, switched Rachael with her sister Leah. As the wedding gown included a face veil, Jacob thought that his bride was Rachael, when it was in fact Leah! The evil Lavan had made the change. As a result, in traditional weddings, the bride’s face is uncovered and the groom can see who she is.
At the Chuppah (Canopy)
The wedding canopy is called a chuppah in Hebrew. The groom walks to the chuppah. Then the bride walks to the chuppah. She walks around the groom seven times. Then the rabbi recites the blessings at the Jewish wedding. There are seven blessings. The groom places the ring on the bride’s finger. Then the groom breaks a glass. The broken glass symbolizes that Jerusalem is still destroyed. Yet even so, our happiness at the wedding is incomplete as long as Jerusalem is not yet rebuilt. We must always remember Jerusalem. Especially when life is full of other happy times, we must recall the rebuilding of Jerusalem which wil be the pinnacle of our happiness.
After the blessings, the ring, and breaking the glass, the bride and groom take a drink of wine. Then they are married. The marriage contract is called a ketubah.
